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Topic: Are the Mane 6 still the Elements of Harmony (Read 460 times)

Way back in Season 1 the Mane 6 found the Elements of Harmony but they were destroyed by Nightmare Moon but it was revealed that the Mane 6 were the Elements of Harmony...well they were said to be the spirits of the Elements of Harmony specifically. It was never explicitly stated but implied that the Mane 6 were something akin to the Equine embodiments of the Elements and generally in the fandom they are viewed as being the Elements themselves corpus elementum if you will.

Anyway, with the Elements of Harmony (the jewels) back in the Tree of Harmony, what does that mean for the Mane 6? Do we still consider them the Elements of Harmony or what?

Me, I still think of them as the Elements cause the Elements of Harmony Jewels still look like the Mane 6's Cutie Marks, though the Element of Magic apparently always looked like Twi's Cutie Mark.

Hard to say, I'd say "no" until we learn more about the box though. They're regarded as the "Bearers" of the Elements, but with no Elements to bear then they're no longer the Bearers.... But since anything could be in that box, who knows?

Hard to say, I'd say "no" until we learn more about the box though. They're regarded as the "Bearers" of the Elements, but with no Elements to bear then they're no longer the Bearers.... But since anything could be in that box, who knows?

True though the fact that they reformed the jewels does suggest to me they were/are more than just the "bearers" like Celestia and Luna were.

Yes, the mane 6 are still the elements of harmony. If for any reason they had to dig the elements back out of the tree, the mane 6 are still the only ponies who can wield their power.

Nitpick:I never liked the idea of calling the mane 6 "the elements of harmony" though. To me they're the bearers of the elements and those pretty jewels were the actual elements.

There has been a debate about that point for some time now but nothing conclusive has ever been stated as of yet.

I do wonder how this will effect how we talk about the Mane 6 though. Before it was common place to point out something like Rarity being the Element of Generosity but not acting generous (which is WRONG! but that's a discussion for another thread) or the like. Will we still say stuff like that?

There has been a debate about that point for some time now but nothing conclusive has ever been stated as of yet.

I do wonder how this will effect how we talk about the Mane 6 though. Before it was common place to point out something like Rarity being the Element of Generosity but not acting generous (which is WRONG! but that's a discussion for another thread) or the like. Will we still say stuff like that?

Debate about what exactly? Whether to call the mane six the elements directly? Or wether or not they are still the elements even without their accessories?

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Castle Mane-ia showed that Rarity continues to act now as she has always acted in any episode where she isn't the focus. Take that for what you will; as you said that's a debate for another thread.

The prier. It wasn't a huge thing but some fans consider the Mane 6 to BE the Elements of Harmony while others see them as the BEARERS of the Elements of Harmony.

Huh, I wasn't aware that was even a debate.

I can't find any dialogue in the show that uses "The Elements of Harmony" to refer to anything but the gems/jewelry; and the establishing lines in S1E2 were "because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here. [...] Applejack [...] represents the spirit of honesty" and so forth. Not anything about them being the element of honesty, etc.

I'm fine with omitting "bearer of" in ordinary fan discussions, but that doesn't seem to reflect any deeper thruth in-universe; it is merely a practical elision.

I can't find any dialogue in the show that uses "The Elements of Harmony" to refer to anything but the gems/jewelry; and the establishing lines in S1E2 were "because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here. [...] Applejack [...] represents the spirit of honesty" and so forth. Not anything about them being the element of honesty, etc.

I'm fine with omitting "bearer of" in ordinary fan discussions, but that doesn't seem to reflect any deeper thruth in-universe; it is merely a practical elision.

It's those lines you quoted that led to the notion that the Elements of Harmony and the Mane 6 are one and the same. The fact that the Jewels reform into their Cutie Marks and that they reform around the Mane 6 at all does support the idea since I seems unlikely something like that would just happen to six random mares.

Wow, I really like this idea. I don't personally subscribe that putting the elements (or whatever the necklaces and the crown things are) back into the tree gives back the elements from the Mane Six; they're already tied to their element. Giving back their necklace seem to me that it just means they can't channel their element; it doesn't mean their not connected to their element anymore.Although, Appley did pose concern that their friendship connection would be hampered by giving the elements back to the Tree of Harmony, so they'rs that. But wait! The Mane Six didn't start with the necklaces; they were connected to their element before Twilight gave them the actual necklace. That is quite an interesting point.So! Overall, I'd have to say that each of the Mane Six probably are the corporeal incarnation of the actual element, and the necklace is just the way the Mane Six channel their element. :ajcutiebig:

I'm not sure that the Mane 6 actually were the Elements of Harmony, just the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. As Mirage Seraph said, they can't really do that without any Elements to bear. The connection between them and the Elements was never very clear, and it lead to some weird inconsistencies. Character wise, they're probably better off without them.